Vancouver mayor re-announces affordable housing program for middle-class families
It appears Vancouver Mayor Kennedy Stewart is attempting to get a head start on his re-election campaign, by re-announcing an ambitious pilot program aimed at creating more affordable housing in the city.
It an announcement Wednesday, Stewart outlined a proposal similar to a motion he previously brought to council last fall.
“Making Home is a new plan allowing thousands of young middle-class and new Canadian families to buy their first home, and includes allowing up to six ground-oriented units to be built on a single lot,” said Stewart.
If approved, the plan could offer up to 10,000 new affordable homes for middle-class families to buy in single detached neighbourhoods across Vancouver.
It could also help to generate hundreds of millions of dollars to fight homelessness, build affordable rentals, repair infrastructure, expand child care services and accelerate the city’s climate emergency action plan.
“I think there are thousands of folks that want to do this,” Stewart added. “We know from our own survey work that this idea is off the charts in terms of popularity.”
The original proposal sent to city staff for review was heavily amended. The new motion includes more specifics and focuses on concerns about speculation on the increased land value.
Homeowners already on that land would need to bid in order to get into the program and the city would set the price based on how many homes it wants on the lot.
“I think this actually solves speculation,” said Thomas Davidoff, director of the University of British Columbia’s centre for urban economics and real estate. “This gets homes built that are actually homes in which people live instead of dragging out the process of redevelopment.”
Existing homeowners would give up the potential of cashing in on rising housing prices, but they would be guaranteed a new home on the same property.
“You bring down market prices by solving the problem of too many households for not enough homes. And you generate an enormous amount of revenue that can be used to address affordability by providing cash transfers, or off-site affordable housing,” Davidoff added. “As an economist, I would conclude no reasonable person could possibly oppose this proposal.”
The proposal also aims to make Vancouver a greener place to live, with the addition of hundreds of electric vehicle chargers and new bus lanes to meet the city’s target to reduce carbon emissions from vehicle use.
“This program will widen housing choice, make Vancouver a greener city, and will likely generate hundreds of millions of dollars each year that can be used to help those struggling with affordability,” said Davidoff. “This is a great motion on economic, social and environmental grounds.”
The motion is set to go before council sometime in January 2022.
With files from CTV News Vancouver’s Regan Hasegawa
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
B.C. tenants evicted for landlord's use after refusing large rent increase to take over neighbouring suite
Ashley Dickey and her mother rented part of the same Coquitlam duplex in three different decades under three different landlords.
MPP Sarah Jama asked to leave Ontario legislature for wearing keffiyeh
MPP Sarah Jama was asked to leave the Legislative Assembly of Ontario by House Speaker Ted Arnott on Thursday for wearing a keffiyeh, a garment which has been banned at Queen’s Park.
Mountain guide dies after falling into a crevasse in Banff National Park
A man who fell into a crevasse while leading a backcountry ski group deep in the Canadian Rockies has died.
Body of Quebec man who died in Cuba found in Russia, family confirms
A Montreal-area family confirmed to CTV News that the body of their loved one who died while on vacation in Cuba is being repatriated to Canada after it was mistakenly sent to Russia.
Expert warns of food consumption habits amid rising prices
A new survey by Dalhousie University's Agri-Food Analytics Lab asked Canadians about their food consumption habits amid rising prices.
Saskatchewan isn't remitting the carbon tax on home heating. Why isn't my province following suit?
After Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said the federal government would still send Canada Carbon Rebate cheques to Saskatchewan residents, despite Saskatchewan Premier Scott Moe's decision to stop collecting the carbon tax on natural gas or home heating, questions were raised about whether other provinces would follow suit. CTV News reached out across the country and here's what we found out.
Montreal actress calls Weinstein ruling 'discouraging' but not surprising
A Montreal actress, who has previously detailed incidents she had with disgraced Hollywood producer Harvey Weinstein, says a New York Court of Appeals decision overturning his 2020 rape conviction is 'discouraging' but not surprising.
RCMP officers had no legal authority to enter man's home, make arrest: B.C. court
A B.C. man has been found not guilty of assaulting two RCMP officers – with the court finding he was resisting an "unlawful entry and arrest" in his home before he was tasered, taken down and hauled away in handcuffs.
'Deep ignorance': Calls for Manitoba trustee to resign sparked after comments about Indigenous people and reconciliation
A rural Manitoba school trustee is facing calls to resign over comments he made about Indigenous people and residential schools earlier this week.